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Spring may have been a little slow in arriving but it is certainly here now. At the farmers market this weekend I found some of the first of the locally grown asparagus. In addition to the asparagus I found some ramps and some morel mushrooms both of which I had been wanting to try. Ramps , or wild leeks are a member of the onion family and they are commonly described as tasting like a cross between onions and garlic. Given that I use onions and garlic so commonly in my cooking, I just had to try the ramps.
One of my favorite ways to welcome in Springs fresh produce is with an asparagus quiche . I figured that an asparagus quiche with morel mushrooms and ramps would be tasty indeed. I had been wanting to try a brown rice crust for a quiche for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. The brown rice crust sounded lighter and healthier than the more standard pie pastry crust. The pictures that I had seen of the brown rice crust always looked nice and golden brown and good.

The brown rice crust was really easy to make. It is pretty much just some cooked brown rice, an egg and some cheese that is pre-baked in the pie plate for a few minutes before pouring in the quiche filling and baking the quiche. The quiche was as easy as mixing and baking making this a pretty simple recipe overall. The asparagus, morel mushroom and ramp quiche with a brown rice crust turned out great! The brown rice crust baked up nice and golden brown and it was slightly crispy. I will definitely be using this brown rice crust again. The quiche itself was nice and tasty! It is hard to go wrong with eggs, milk and cheese and the ramps added an amazing aroma and flavour to the quiche. The morel mushrooms were really good, though at the price that I paid for them they will be a special occasion item. This quiche was an amazing way to welcome in Springs bounty this year! Now I need to come up with some more ideas for enjoying ramps while they are in season.

Asparagus, Morel and Ramp Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust

Servings: 6

ingredients

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/4 cup gruyere (grated)

1 egg

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup gruyere (grated)

1/2 pound morel mushrooms

1/2 pound asparagus (cut into 1-inch long pieces and steamed)

3 ramps (chopped)

salt and pepper to taste

directions

Mix the rice, cheese and egg in a bowl.

Press the rice mixture into a pie plate, about 1/4 inch thick.

Bake in a preheated 450F/230C oven until the edges and bottom just start turning golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.

Mix the eggs, milk, cheese, mushrooms, asparagus and ramps in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust.

Bake in a preheated 375F/190C oven until golden brown and set in the center, about 30-35 minutes.

I made a ramp, parm and guanciale tart recently that might be right up your alley. Feel free to come take a look!

PS - I love the idea of the rice crust. One of my favorite things from childhood was a puffed rice cake that my dad would get from the Chinese restaurant down the street that was like one giant rice krispie.

oh that looks so good! i'll admit I was pulled in by the mention of morel mushrooms. you're lucky to get your hands on some. D: out here we scavenge for them in the woods...but they're very inconsistant. some years we get bucket loads for the freezer, other years we HEAR that someone found ONE.

i've been meaning to try my hand at a quiche...and i think my family would really enjoy this one. :)

Morels were always Dad's thing. Any time it rained he'd grab a bucket and go to the woods. Claimed they were wonderful but I've never cared for any mushrooms. But I got to be an expert at finding them for Daddy.

What a great idea for the crust! I always have a hard time eating what is, essentially, a pie for dinner. Having the crust be a bit healthier is much more appealing to me. And the filling is spring personified. yum!

That sounds like the spring-iest quiche ever. And I'm totally going to have to try this brown rice crust. Last time I made quiche, I used a very delicious, but very high fat version (lots of butter and cream cheese). Wouldn't hurt to lighten it up a bit...

I like the change in your banner to represent the change in seasons. I'm dying to change mine as well! But I'm so cyber-challenged!I had heard of brown rice crusts but had never known of anyone that tried them. This looks great and I love the complexity of flavours, I like that you kicked it up a notch from just asparagus! Morels are increadible and they pair so well with oniony flavours!

I'm off to the front lawn to see if I can harvest enough morels for this quiche! Yes, I have morels in the lawn, because our land was once used for charcoal making, and the residual ash seems to make the edges of the woods hospitable for morels.

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.